WHO: More than 1,300 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies from troops throughout New Jersey will be decorating the graves in honor of Memorial Day at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The Scouts will begin arriving at 4 p.m. and start placing a flag on each grave at 5 p.m. After more than 56,000 graves have been decorated, the scouts will enjoy a cookout style dinner. This community service will be commemorated with a scouting patch.

THE STORY: The annual Memorial Day commemoration ceremonies will begin with a parade of color guards from various veterans organizations led by the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery Joint Honor Guard. Highlights will include the 63rd Army Band and a 21-gun salute. Culminating the ceremony will be the presentation of memorial wreaths by representatives of more than a dozen veteran and service organizations who will parade to the public assembly area.

BACKGROUND: The Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery is New Jersey’s sole state-operated veterans’ cemetery. Dedicated in 1986, it is managed by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The Cemetery is the busiest state veteran cemetery in the nation, averaging nearly 3,000 interments each year. It is the final resting place for more than 56,000 veterans and family members. For more information on the cemetery, go to